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Horizon Forbidden West is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn (2017), the game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States, recovering from the aftermath of an extinction event caused by a rogue robot swarm. The player, assuming control of Aloy, must venture into the Forbidden West to find the source of a mysterious plague that kills all it infects. The player can explore the open world and complete quests using ranged and melee weapons against machine creatures and hostile rebels. Forbidden West introduced new gameplay mechanics to the franchise, such as new traversal tools, underwater exploration, and expanded melee combat. Guerrilla Games began developing Forbidden West in 2018. Development of the game peaked at over 300 full-time employees and cost around US$212 million, making it one of the most expensive video games to develop. One of the team's goals was to "recapture the magic" of the original game, and the team made efforts to expand exploration and combat to support various playstyles. Guerilla also invested more resources into creating the game's cinematics and spent more time creating character-driven side quests for the game. Ashly Burch and Lance Reddick returned to provide the voice for Aloy and Sylens, respectively, and they were joined by Angela Bassett and Carrie-Anne Moss. As with Zero Dawn, the game was powered by Guerilla's in-house Decima engine. Announced in June 2020, the game was released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on 18 February 2022. The game received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the visuals, combat, the cast's performance, and quest design but criticized its story and Aloy's characterization. Most reviewers agreed that Forbidden West was bigger and more refined than Zero Dawn, though it was more of an evolutionary experience than a revolutionary one. It had sold over 8.4 million units by April 2023. It was nominated for several end-of-year accolades, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022. An expansion, Burning Shores, was released for the PlayStation 5 in April 2023. The game and the Burning Shores expansion were collected together, re-released as Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition for PlayStation 5 in October 2023, and ported to Windows by Nixxes Software in March 2024. A new installment in the Horizon franchise is currently in development. Gameplay Horizon Forbidden West is an action role-playing video game played from a third-person perspective, set in a world populated by dangerous, animalistic machines. The player controls Aloy, a hunter who ventures into an uncharted frontier known as the Forbidden West, a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States, to investigate a mysterious plague. Aloy's primary weapons of choice are bows and arrows. Other weapons in the game include a blastsling, which allows Aloy to slingshot bombs towards enemies, and a Shredder Gauntlet, which launches serrated discs useful for tearing armor and components. She can also lay down traps and tripwires, and use the ropecaster to tether enemies to the ground, immobilizing them. Certain weapons in the game have different ammo types, allowing the player to inflict elemental damage on enemies. For instance, acid ammo may melt an opponent's armor, while shock ammo can stun enemies. Elemental damage can also be chained. For instance, purgewater arrows may result in a "drenched status" for a machine, making them more vulnerable to shock arrows and stopping them from unleashing elemental attacks of their own. The elemental status of a machine will gradually accumulate, and the machine will be significantly affected or damaged by that elemental status for a brief period of time once a meter is completely filled. The player can use Aloy's Focus to tag an enemy and scan them to identify their weaknesses. Aloy may also detach parts of the machines through her attacks, crippling a large amount of their health, removing their attack capabilities, and occasionally being able to use their own detached weapons against them. Melee combat is significantly expanded when compared with Zero Dawn. Aloy, with her spear, can now chain up her attacks with various types of combos. Stealth is also a viable tactic, as Aloy can hide in tall grass, distract unsuspecting enemies, and silently strike enemies without drawing attention. As the player progresses in the game and completes various quests, they earn more experience points (XP). With sufficient XP, Aloy's health will increase, and skill points may be unlocked. Skill points can be spent on one of six skill trees targeting six different playstyles: Warrior (melee combat), Trapper (using traps), Hunter (ranged combat), Survivor (scavenging resources), Infiltrator (stealth), and Machine Master (overriding machines). By playing the game tactically (such as performing headshots against human enemies or tearing components off a machine), the player is granted additional combat points, ultimately enabling them to unleash "Valor Surge", a powerful special attack that inflicts a large amount of damage on enemies. Exploration Like its predecessor, Forbidden West is an open world video game. The game offers two modes of exploration: Guided mode highlights key items and locations of interest, while Explorer mode has a more minimalistic user interface, requiring the player to reach locations with the help of a compass. Fast travel points can be accessed after discovering campfires in the wild, while visiting shelters enables the player to change the time of day. The player will meet different non-playable characters (NPCs) and complete side quests for them. While conversing with other NPCs, the player can sometimes choose from one of three dialogue options, with each representing Aloy's tone and attitude towards a scenario or a character, though they will not affect the game's narrative. The player can identify locations of interest by ascending to the top of a Tallneck (a giraffe-like machine) and overriding it. They can also venture into "cauldrons", which are often a series of platforming challenges culminating in a boss fight. There are a large assortment of side activities the player can complete in Forbidden West, including finding collectibles such as survey drones and ancient black boxes, clearing rebel camps and outposts, completing salvage contracts and timed hunting challenges, competing in fight pits against humans or machines, and finding relics through solving environmental puzzles in ancient ruins. At major settlements, the player can also play an in-game board game named "Machine Strike". Aloy is an agile character, and her Focus allows her to highlight climbable surfaces. As the player progresses, they will unlock the pullcaster, which can pull down obstacles. It also serves as a grappling hook, allowing the player to access difficult-to.... Discover the Victoria Rosenthal Rick Barba popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Victoria Rosenthal Rick Barba books.